The Ashes is one of the oldest cricket series, with an interesting and fascinating history. This series is held in England and Australia every two years and is the most expected event in the cricket world. This series attracts the attention of many fans and just cricket lovers. It is also a great opportunity to support your favorite team. What is the story behind the Ashes series? Where did this series get its name from? We will tell you about this and much more in the article.
The origin of the name of the Ashes series
Between the teams of England and Australia, a conditional prize is played out in test cricket, which is called the Ashes. The winner of the prize is the team that won the last series of games. If the series ends in a draw, the prize remains with the previous winner.
How did the name of this series come about? The history of these competitions dates back to 1882, in that year the British were defeated by the Australian team. At that moment, an obituary appeared in a British newspaper stating that the English cricket had died, his body was cremated and the ashes were taken to Australia. During the visit of the British delegation to Australia, the Austrians did give the British an urn with ashes. A hundred years later, a study proved that the urn actually contained the ashes of a burned cricket ball. In 1927, the urn was donated to the famous MCC. It is still kept there. The urn does not leave its location, but it is assumed that the winning country of the tournament owns this prize.
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The history behind The Ashes series
Let’s look at how events developed in the Ashes series. Several periods can be distinguished:
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1884–1896
After Australia won the match in 1882, England managed to regain their dominance and win the following matches. After that, the period of the English championship began. For countries in those days, there was no official selection committee. The struggle in the 1890s was more intense. Australia managed to win in 1891-1892 for the first time in 10 years. But the next three series until 1896 were won by England.
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1897–1902
This period began with success for Australia, which won the series in 1897-98, the next three series in 1899, 1901-02 were also for Australia. Then in 1902 five matches took place, the first two ended in a draw due to weather conditions. In the Australian team during this period, outstanding players appeared.
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1905–1912
The problems of the earlier series of matches were noticed by the MCC, which decided to take control of the organization of the tours. In 1903-1904, the first tour of Australia took place. England won and after this tour, this series became known under the title of the Ashes. Before the outbreak of the First World War, the forces of England and Australia were equal. They won the series one by one. In 1912, England won the tournament and kept the Ashes. South Africa also participated in this tournament.
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1920-1933
After the war, Australia controlled both the Ashes and world cricket. Australia has had incredible victories both at home and away. As for England, before 1925 they won one test out of 15. In 1926, England won, and the same year the Australian team broke up. From that moment on, the team had a period of setbacks. But already in 1930, the Australian team was the strongest, and the British, in turn, tried to change tactics in order to win.
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1934-1953
Australia won the Ashes and held it until 1953, but no games were played during World War II. It is worth noting that the 1938 series ended in a draw and, accordingly, Australia retained the cup. After the war, the Australian team was more prepared. The 1953 series was already won by the England team and from that moment one of the greatest periods in the history of English cricket began.
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1954 – 1971
England continued to win the series until 1958 when the dominance again passed into the hands of Australia. In the 1960s, the legendary line-up of both teams retired, and the new line-up was not so strong. In the 1960s, England did not win any series, at this time draws prevailed more. In 1970-71, the victory was for England.
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1972-1987
In the 1972 series, England retained the Ashes. The Ashes series has long been considered the cricket world champion, this was before the arrival of the West Indies. The dominance of the West Indies lasted until the 1990s. England’s success in the Ashes continued.
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1989-2003
In 1989, Australia won a complete victory. In the 1990s and early 2000s, Australia had a staggering record and won every series by a decent margin. Between 1989 and the start of the 2005 series, both sides played 43 times; Australia won 28 times, England 7 with 8 draws.
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2005-2015
During 2004 no test matches were lost by England. This lifted them to second place. The 2005 series was rated as the most exciting. In 2006-2007, Australia won the Ashes again. In 2010-2011, England won their first series on Australian soil in 24 years. Australia entered the 2015 series as the favorite, but England still won.
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2017 to present
The 2019 series ended in a tie, with the Ashes remaining in Australia.
Conclusion
Ashes is an exciting series that true cricket fans appreciate. The origin of the name of the series itself is extremely interesting, as is the whole history of the series of matches. If you would like to try your luck and place a bet on the Ashes series, we are waiting for you on the Parimatch website.